The Colemans were an ordinary family until one of their sons was detained and held for 5 months. Max Coleman went to John Vorster Square almost every day until his son’s release and he and Audrey went on to found the Detainees’ Parent Support Committee.

This book is a sobering reminder of the horrors of the apartheid era and how the State misused its powers to harass, torture and repress South Africans. It is also a wonderful testimony to the strength of the human spirit and to the power of the ordinary people to stand up in extraordinary times.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu (as always) says it best: “I urge you to read this book and to learn from it. It is not a story of the past, but a story of the noblest part of ourselves – that part of us that must stand with all the oppressed and exploited people, whether in South Africa or across the world, in the face of injustice and abuse of power.”

Sangomas and cops don’t mix. Usually. But this is Joburg, a metropolis that is equal parts flash and shadow, and where not everything can be easily explained.

Ian Jack, a disillusioned former police officer, teams up with Reshma Patel, a colleague from his old life, to investigate a routine housebreaking gone bad. But when they uncover links to a possible animal poaching and trafficking syndicate, things go from complicated to dangerous to downright evil.

Set against the richly textured backdrop of a livewire African city, this fast-paced thriller offers a disturbing contemporary take on justice and morality. To be read with the lights on.

‘A cracking novel. Brilliant original writing, free of clichés. The pace is insane – in a good way.’ – Sarah Lotz, author of The White Road, Day Four and The Three.

NR BRODIE is a veteran journalist and best-selling author of five books.